I am the registered owner of a freehold house in West Hendon but still pay rent, why is this and what is this?
It is rare for properties in West Hendon and has limited impact for conveyancing in West Hendon but some freehold properties in England (particularly common in North West England) pay an annual sum known as a Chief Rent or a Rentcharge to a third party who has no other legal interest in the land.
Rentcharge payments are usually between £2.00 and £5.00 per year. Rentcharges date back many centuries, but the Rent Charge Act 1977 barred the creation of new rentcharges post 1977.
Old rentcharges can now be extinguished by making a lump sum payment under the Act. Any rentcharges that are still in existence after 2037 will be dispensed with completely.
My house in West Hendon is up for sale and I have a purchaser. Will the property lawyer have to be on the Nationwide conveyancing panel in order to deal with redeeming my mortgage?
Ordinarily, even if your lawyer is not on the Nationwide conveyancing panel they can still act for you on your sale. It might be that the lender will not release the original deeds (if applicable and increasingly irrelevant) until after the mortgage is paid off. You should speak to your lawyer directly before you start the process though to ensure that there is no problem as lenders are changing their panel criteria fairly frequently at the moment.
My wife and I are purchasing a apartment in West Hendon. It might be a silly question but how we can trust a solicitor? On the day of competition we will need to deposit our life savings into their account. What is the protection we have from them run away with our monies?
Be assured that all money in a Solicitors client account is 100% safe, and even if your Solicitor ran off with it, the Law Society would reimburse you fully.
I am expecting a DIP from Principality this week so we can work out what to offer on a property we like as otherwise we only have online calculators to go by (which aren't taking into account credit checks etc). Do Principality recommend any West Hendon solicitors on the Principality conveyancing panel, or is it better to find our own lawyer?
You will need to appoint West Hendon solicitors independently although you'll need to choose one on the Principality conveyancing panel. The solicitor represents both you and Principality through the process.
I am selling my apartment. I had a double glazing fitted in August 2006, but did not receive a FENSA certificate or Building Regulation Certificate. My buyer's lender, Leeds Building Society are being a right pain. The West Hendon solicitor who is on the Leeds Building Society conveyancing panel is happy to accept ‘lack of building regulation’ insurance but Leeds Building Society are insisting on a building regulation certificate. Why do Leeds Building Society have a conveyancing panel if they don't accept advice from them?
It is probably the case that Leeds Building Society have referred the matter to their valuer. The reason why Leeds Building Society may not want to accept indemnity insurance is because it does not give them any reassurance that the double glazing was correctly and safely installed. The indemnity insurance merely protects against enforcement action which is very unlikely anyway.
The estate agent has sent us the confirmation of our purchase of a new build flat in West Hendon. Conveyancing is daunting at the best of times but I have never purchased a new build flat before. Can you give me some examples of some of the questions asked in new build legal work.
Here are examples of a few leasehold new build questions that you can expect your new-build leasehold conveyancing in West Hendon
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Will the freehold then be transferred for a nominal consideration (not exceeding £100) to the Management Company? If there are lifts in the building, please confirm that the owners of flats on the ground and basement floors will not be required to contribute towards the cost of maintenance and renewal. Has the Lease plan been approved by the Land Registry and if not when will they be lodged for this purpose? The Lease must contain a provision on behalf of the Vendor to pay the service charges in respect of unoccupied units in order to ensure that all services can be provided. Please supply a car parking plan.
Over the last few months I have been searching for a flat up to £245,000 and found one round the corner in West Hendon I like with open areas and station in the vicinity, the downside is that it only has 49 years on the lease. I can't really find anything else in West Hendon in this price bracket, so just wondered if I would be making a mistake purchasing a short lease?
Should you need a mortgage the remaining unexpired lease term will likely be problematic. Discount the price by the amount the lease extension will cost if not already taken into account. If the existing proprietor has owned the premises for a minimum of twenty four months you may ask them to commence the lease extension formalities and pass it to you. You can add 90 years to the current lease and have £0 ground rent by law. You should consult your conveyancing lawyer regarding this.
We are in the process of selling our flat in West Hendon. Conveyancing lawyers are doing their job but we are being charged a fortune from the freeholder. To date we have paid £225 for a leasehold management information and then a further £118 for additional questions supplied by the buyers lawyer.
Your solicitor will not have any impact over the extent of the bill for this information however the average fee for the information for West Hendon leasehold premises is £360. When it comes to West Hendon conveyancing sales it is customary for the seller to pay for these charges. The freeholder or their agents are under no legal obligation to address such questions most will be content to do so - albeit often at high prices where the fees bear little relation to the work involved. Unfortunately there is no statute that mandates fixed fees for administrative tasks. There is no set time frame by which they are duty bound to supply answers.